The second half of the Mace Windu/Jar Jar two-parter wasn’t the unexpected treat the first half was, though it had its moments.

I do wish Mother Talzin’s involvement had been kept a secret and she hadn’t been seen fighting Mace in the trailer. Though I suppose I likely would have guessed who “The Great Mother” was - so maybe a less specific name could have been used?

Regardless, it was cool to see Talzin return in this manner, away from any of the characters we’d seen her interact with in the past - and just the visual of her taking on Mace Windu, with that sword she conjured, was awesome, though the fight itself was sadly short.

In general, this episode was a decent follow-up to the previous one that had some of the same strengths, but didn’t quite pop as much and lacked the exciting energy of "Part 1". I’ll again give the devil Gungan his due and say Jar Jar was given a couple of amusing lines - including, “He’s a got all crispy-fried” (as he described someone murdered via lava) and his deadpan (for Jar Jar), “Yeah, mesa see that from here too,” as Mace described the visions the Force was showing him of the town they needed to search.

Also, for what it’s worth, Jar Jar was given what could be described as a fairly heroic portrayal here. He actually picked up that big laser from those stone robots and used it intentionally and correctly, and it was clear that his love for Queen Julia was making him be braver than usual, as he worked to save her. His voice and mannerisms are still fingernails on a chalk board annoying, of course, but The Clone Wars team did what they could to present him as best they could… even as he used his tongue to grab Mace’s lightsaber and then spit the saber at Mace to catch. Which, just… Sigh…

Mace, meanwhile, got a few more moments to be a bad ass, Jar Jar assists aside. In the previous episode, he stared down a cultist, and here he had outdid that when a big creature ran from him, after he killed his buddy. The fight scenes weren’t as dynamic or exciting as in Part 1, but they still were able to portray just how formidable this Jedi Master can be.

The Verdict

Perhaps “The Disappeared” would have been better served as a single episode, but even though “Part 2” wasn’t as impressive as “Part 1”, it still managed the minor-miracle of making a fairly palatable Jar Jar episode - and gave Mace Windu one last time to show his skill set, before this show came to its end.

If you've seen all of Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Season 6, be sure to read my in-depth interview with Dave Filoni about everything that occurred in the final season, including the plans for Talzin beyond this episode (and how we’ll get them in comic book form).